A Cinderella Masquerade
by Deadly Poppy
Summary: “Well, you appear to have become my date. Shall I introduce myself?” I gasped as he removed his mask, revealing the face of none other than James Potter. I could not be falling for James Potter. So I did the only thing I could think of. I ran. R&R!
1. No One Of Importance

**Okay, so I've seen this done before and I really wanted to try and write a story like this. Might stay a one-shot or become a full story. Not sure yet. Depends on the number of reviews.**

*******************

I sat, eating breakfast in the Great Hall, next to my two best friends, Alice and Andromeda.

"Attention students," Dumbledore called. I was surprised. The headmaster rarely made announcements at breakfast. All eyes were on the bearded old man.

"Tomorrow, as you all know, is Halloween. The professors and I have all planned a surprise for you. We are going to have a Halloween Ball.

Cheers erupted from all the girls and groans from most of the guys.

"Quiet, quiet," Dumbledore said. "There's more. It will be a masquerade ball. You will wear masks, and teachers will be available to help you alter your appearance. You will be prohibited from revealing your identity until midnight, when the dance will end.

Everyone looked at each other. This could be interesting. Being a whole different person.

*******************

"This will be so great!" Alice squealed. Again.

"I know!" I said. I was excited in spite of myself. Alice wasn't going to tell Frank who she was. She was making the poor guy guess.

I pulled on my dress. It was long and black, with a bow tied around the front of it. Then I picked up my wand and charmed my hair so that it was a black and curly.

"Lily?" Alice asked. "Is that really you? You look so different!"

I blushed. "You look gorgeous," I told her. She had changed her hair blonde with reddish highlights. Her dress was blue with ruffles.

**(AN: Pics of masks and dresses are on profile!)**

"Ready?" Alice asked. I nodded, grinning. And then we made our way into the great hall.

*******************It looked beautiful. The stars in the night sky that was the ceiling looked even brighter than usual. The lights had been dimmed, possibly to add to the disguising effect. The house tables were gone, and in their place were a number of smaller tables, set around the dance floor.

"Come on!" Alice squealed, dragging me over to a table where she kept an eye out for Frank. We saw him, appearance unchanged, in the middle of the dance floor, looking lost. Alice looked at me. "Would you mind…?? She asked, trailing off. I nodded, smiling. She gave me an appreciative look and scurried off to find him.

I looked around the mostly empty tables for someone I could possible dance with. That's when I spotted him. He had medium brown hair and was wearing a long black cloak and a gold mask. I walked over to him.

"Hello," I said, smiling at him. He looked up at me and smiled sadly. "Hello," he said halfheartedly.

"Care to dance?" I asked. He looked lost for a moment. Then he said, "Of course."

As we danced across the floor, I realized how miserable he looked. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Don't you like dancing with me?"

"Oh, of course!" he said quickly. "It's just…"

"I'm not the girl you want to be dancing with," I finished for him. He nodded.

"What's she like?" I asked.

"She's…perfect. Even her flaws are perfect. She's amazing. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but she doesn't even like me."

"Maybe she'll come around," I suggested.

"I don't think so," he said. "I was hoping to ask her to dance tonight when she can't recognize me, but I can't recognize her!"

I laughed. "I'm sorry," I said, "that's not funny."

"Oh it is," he said, smiling. "I only wish it weren't true."

"Maybe she doesn't want anyone to recognize her," I suggested.

"No," he said. "I think she's avoiding me. She knows I wanted to ask her to dance.

"You really like her, don't you?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, as the music ended, and we sat down. "She's smart, and funny, and beautiful, and kind to everyone. She tells me when I'm being an arrogant jerk, and it makes me want to be a better person. Just for her."

"That's so sweet," I breathed. "How can she not like you?"

"Because I've messed up too many times. Assumed she'd go out with me just because I'm me. Been too full of myself. She wouldn't go out with a guy like me."

"That's not true," I said. "You're really sweet. I'm amazed I don't know you."

"Thanks," he said. "Now, enough about me, what about you?"

"Oh, I'm no one of importance," I said, blushing.

"Of course you are. You've listened to me babble on about some girl you may not even know. You're obviously very nice."

And so we talked. We learned all about each other, yet somehow managed to never guess the other's identity.

We danced a few more times, and ate when food came, and by the time my feet began to feel sore from the dancing, I realized I was falling for him.

And I didn't even know his name.

Someone at the front of the room tapped a spoon against a glass.

"Attention students," Dumbledore said loudly. "In thirty seconds, it will be midnight. You may reveal your identity in ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…now!"

There was much murmuring and gasping and masks coming off. The boy I had been talking to looked at me. "Well, you appear to have become my date. Shall I introduce myself?"

I smiled, blushing at his use of the word date. He tapped his head with his wand, turning his hair black, and took off his mask, revealing the face of none other than James Potter.

I gasped.

No. no, no, no.

I could not be falling for James Potter.

So I did the only thing I could think of.

I ran. And as I ran, I felt my hair falling, and I realize I must have lost the clip I used to hold it together.

I ran into the girl's dormitory and changed the moment I got to the common room.

*****************Okay, click the review button! Please!!!! If you do, I will make this a full story instead of a one-shot! It'll be something of a Cinderella story, but please, please, PLEASE just review!!!**


	2. Disappearing Act

**Wow! The response to that first chapter was amazing! Thank you all so much! I'll try and get this up before I leave. I'm going to a water park with my bestest friend. Well, one of my bestest friends!**

**Dislaimy: I doeznt own nuthinz.**

*******************

I groaned.

"Come on Prongsie, go to sleep," Sirius pleaded.

"I can't," I said. "I can't stop thinking about her. It's so strange."

"Yeah it is!" Remus agreed. "You've sworn a thousand times you couldn't fall for anyone but Lily, and now you fall for some random girl whose name you don't even know!"

"You don't even know what she looks like!" Sirius announced.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Well, how are you going to find her?" Peter asked.

"I have no idea," I replied sadly. "Maybe I'll just…ask around?"

"Wrong!" Sirius said, making a buzzing noise. "It just so happens that I have the answer to your problems."

I sat upright in bed. "What?" I asked.

He pulled out a small silver clip with tiny jewels on it.

I gasped. "And you kept this to yourself until just now!?"

He shrugged. "I was waiting for the right moment," he said, as if this made perfect sense. Remus rolled his eyes. "Anyway," Sirius continued. "I saw the girl you were dancing with run off at Midnight, and I followed to see where she was going. I stopped to pick this up after she dropped it, and when I looked up again, she was gone."

"But you're sure it was her that dropped it?" I asked cautiously.

"There was no one else in the corridor," he replied.

I sighed happily and drifted off to sleep.

*********

**Lily POV**

"Lily, spill!" Andromeda said. "Who was this mystery guy you were dancing with that you ran from?"

I groaned. "I don't want to talk about it you guys," I said, rolling over and pulling my blanket over my head.

"It must have been bad," Alice said sympathetically.

"You have no idea," I said, just loud enough for them to hear me.

"That's why you have to tell us!" Andromeda cried.

"I think I lost my clip," I mumbled. "I'll have to go back to the Great Hall tomorrow and look for it."

"We'll help you," Alice said.

"But only if you tell us!" Andromeda added loudly.

"She doesn't have to if she really doesn't want to," Alice said.

"Thank you," I said.

"However-" she added. "It would make us so very, very happy!"

I groaned again. "Come on you guys!" I complained. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Who was it!?" Andromeda demanded, getting out of her bed and jumping on to mine, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah," Alice agreed, following suit. "Who!?"

"James Potter!" I yelled. "I was dancing with James Potter!"

They stopped bouncing simultaneously.

"What?" they said harmoniously.

"Yes," I said. "And I really started to like him before he took his mask off, and now I don't know what to do."

"Wow," Andromeda breathed, getting back into her bed. "I think Hell is freezing over."

Alice nodded. "Either that, or we're having a really strange dream."

"Lily and James," Andromeda said, trying it out.

"Potter and Evans," Alice tried. Then she grinned. "Lily Potter," she said, happily.

I threw my pillow at her as hard as I could. "Shut up!" I cried.

They laughed, and I did too, as hard as I tried to hold it back.

"So, are you going to tell him it was you?" Andromeda asked.

"No," I said firmly.

"What!?" Alice gasped. "Why not!?"

"Think about it," I said. "James has been asking me to go out with him ever since that first time when I said no. If he finds out I fell for him, he'll want to go out with me, but then he'll move on to the next girl, as is his custom. Besides, he already really likes someone," I finished.

"Yeah, you!" Alice said.

"No, he asks me out because I say no. but at the ball, he was telling me about this girl. He described her as perfect in every way. I could never be that girl."

And with that I sighed heavily and forced myself into a dreamless sleep.

*******Love it? Hate it? Let me know! Post your questions, comments, and concerns right here by pressing the review button! Click! Click! Click!**


	3. All In Good Time

**Holaz my fan peeps! Thanks for the amazing response to the last chapter! I love you all! I would so have posted a chapter yesterday, but after I spent the night with my friend, I went fishing with my family and caught the biggest fish! Yay me!**

**And, wait for it…wait…for…ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

*********

We scoured the Great Hall for my slip.

Searched _everywhere_.

We even (insert shudder) asked Filch if he'd found it. He laughed at me for losing it.

(Insert second shudder) Yeah, that's how desperate I am.

You see, that clip was a gift from my grandmother. Her grandmother gave it to her when she was young, and Petunia always wanted it. Grandma would never tell who she was going to give it to, but the day I got my Hogwarts letter six years ago, she gave it to me.

Petunia was seriously pissed off.

And now I've gone and lost it.

"Oh, Lily!" Alice cried. "Don't cry, we'll find it!"

"What?" I asked, reaching toward my face. It felt moist. Oh. I had been crying. "My bad," I muttered.

Andromeda and Alice came and hugged me together. "It'll be alright Lils!" Andromeda said. "We will find it. I promise."

I nodded. "Alright," I said. "But breakfast is going to begin soon, and people will start coming in here, so maybe we should change out of our pajama bottoms," I added, looking at my muggle Hello Kitty pajama pants.

Alice laughed. "Yeah," she agreed. "We probably should." She gestured to her Spongebob ones I had bought her for Christmas. She had been incredibly fascinated by them.

Once we had changed, we went back into the Great Hall to see that it was filling up fast.

"Hello Lily," a familiar voice said.

"Good morning, James," I replied politely. That's when I remembered what was coming up. A Hogsmeade weekend. He's going to ask me out. Again. He does every Hogsmeade weekend.

"Lily, I was…" he trailed off. "Have a nice day," he said, smiling. Then he walked over to his seat.

"What the hell?" Alice asked, watching him, confused.

"He didn't ask you out," Andromeda said incredulously.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed." Alice rolled her eyes.

*********"You didn't ask her out!" Sirius cried incredulously.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed." Remus rolled his eyes.

"But why not?" peter asked, confused.

"I thought about it," I explained. "I was going to. But then I realized she'd just say no."

"She always says no," Sirius said. "That's never stopped you before!"

"Well, I know, but before I didn't think I might be falling in love with someone else. At first we were just talking about her, then, when we started talking about other things, mystery girl was so amazing. She was like Lily, but she was a version of Lily who actually likes me and doesn't blow up in my face when I say something particularly arrogant."

Remus laughed. "Well, I suppose I'm happy for you. I never thought I'd see the day when you decided not to ask Lily out."

"I give it a week," Sirius muttered under his breath.

I rolled my eyes.

*********

I didn't pay attention in Transfiguration.

He didn't ask me out.

Why not?

That's the question that was swirling around in my head all day.

Why not? Why not? Why not?

It was like a pesky little fly, always there no matter how many times you swat it away.

Why did I care? I shouldn't care. I supposed I'd just gotten used to it.

Oh, who am I kidding. I wanted him to ask me out. Even though I'd have said no. I wanted to know that he still liked me, even if he liked the girl he talked about at the ball more.

Because ever since I saw that other side of him, the witty, funny, caring side of him, I was really starting to like him.

And that was a scary thought.

**

* * *

*******

"Who was she?" I asked Alice. I know she knows who I danced with at the ball. Several people saw her talking to her before she ran off to find Frank.

"I told you," she muttered. "I don't know."

"You do too!" Sirius argued. "Who was it!?"

"Fine!" she cried. "I know! But if you think I'm telling you, you are sadly mistaken."

"Why!?" James asked miserably.

"Because, it's none of your business," she muttered.

"How is it none of my business!?" I practically yelled at her.

"Fine," she said. "But I'm still not telling you."

"Then will you just tell my why she wouldn't tell me who she was? Or why she freaked out when I took off my mask?"

She shook her head sadly. "I can't tell you anything. We were sworn to secrecy."

"We?" I asked.

Her eyes widened and she slapped her hand over her mouth. "I've said too much already!" she cried loudly, running away.

"We?" I asked, turning to Sirius. He shrugged. "We could try Andromeda," he suggested. "They're best friends."

"Why don't we just try and find out using the hair clip?" I asked.

"We have to wait for the right time," he said mysteriously. "And the right way. You see, she might be so desperate to hide her identity that she doesn't take the clip back. Or she might have borrowed it from someone else. Or the wrong person w=might try to claim it."

I nodded, pretending like I understood.

"Fine," I muttered.

Sirius put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "All in good time, Prongsie," he said. "All in good time."


	4. Having Nightmares

"It was me James!" I cried loudly.

I couldn't take it any more. I had to tell him, come what may.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I was the mystery girl at the ball!" I said, grinning and throwing my arms around him.

"Wow," he said. "I can't believe it!"

"James!" an unfamiliar voice called. We both turned to see a faceless girl making her way over here.

"Coming!" he called back. "I have to go Lily," he said.

"B-but…" I stuttered, my heart falling.

"I just don't love you like I love her," he said with a shrug, as if he hadn't just ripped her heart out.

"No!" she called, as he walked away with her. "No, come back!"

"Lily!" someone called.

"Don't leave me!"

"Lily wake up!" Alice yelled, shaking me awake.

"W-what?" I asked, dazed.

"You were having a nightmare," she explained.

"Oh…" I said. "So it wasn't real?" I asked.

"Obviously not," she said, rolling her eyes. She looked over at Andromeda. "I swear, that girl can sleep through anything," she muttered. I laughed weakly.

"I'm sorry I woke you," I said.

"It's alright!" she said quickly. "You need someone to talk to," she added, decisively.

"No, I'm really-"

"Yes," she said firmly. "Now spill."

I sighed. "I really like him," I said quietly, looking at her helplessly. "I don't know what happened to hating him, but I just can't anymore. I suppose I never really looked in his eyes before. They're so deep. You can see right into his soul. He has an amazing soul."

"Wow," Alice said. "You've fallen fast and hard."

I nodded. "But I can't act on my feelings," I said miserably.

"Because of the other girl," she finished for me, her voice dripping with sympathy.

I nodded, tears forming in my eyes. We sat like that for about five minutes before I heard a soft snore, and realized Alice had fallen asleep on my bed.

Quietly, so as not to wake anyone, I walked slowly down the stairs to the common room.

It was empty, so I sat in the best seat, a spot on the couch nearest the fireplace.

*********

"Lily?" I asked uncomfortably.

"Yes?" she replied, smiling sweetly at me.

"Will you…will you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

She grinned. "I'd love to!" she exclaimed. Happily surprised, I stood there grinning like an idiot for a moment.

Suddenly, Lily's voice said, "James?" But it wasn't Lily speaking. It was mystery girl. For some reason, they were speaking in the same voice.

"Hello," I said.

"Why are you going to Hogsmeade with her?" she asked sadly.

"I…" but I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Because he loves me," Lily said gloatingly.

"But he loves me too," Mystery Girl said.

"He loves me more!" Lily cried. "Right James!?"

"I-"

"See!" she cried.

"No, I didn't say that!" I cried.

Lily started crying.

"No, don't cry!" I begged.

"So you do like her better!" Mystery Girl cried.

"I never said that!" I argued. "I didn't-I don't-stop yelling…"

"Prongsie!" Sirius yelled, shaking me awake. "You're having a nightmare."

"I was?" I asked doubtfully. "It wasn't real?"

He shook his head. "Now Go back to bed." **(AN: Hahahahahaha! I can rhyme! Coolio!)**

And I tried. I tried for ten minutes before I decided to go down to the common room.

But from the back of the couch, I saw that a certain red headed beauty was already there.

"Hello Lily," I said, sitting next to her.

She looked at me, surprised. "Oh, James," she said. Then she smiled weakly. "Hi."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing," she said.

"Yes, there's something wrong," I told her. "I can see tear stains under your eyes."

She shook her head again.

"You can tell me you know," I said. "I know we haven't exactly been the best of friends. But I've changed." I said the last part pleadingly, begging her to believe it.

"I can't," she argued. "I just can't. It's…" but she trailed off.

"Should I beat the pulp out of anyone?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

She laughed. "That's sweet," she said, though I think she said it more to herself.

"I'm a sweet person," I said with mock seriousness. She laughed again.

"I have changed," I told her again, looking into her eyes.

She leaned forward, and before she could change her mind, I did also, and our lips met.


	5. Kill Myself?

It was amazing. It was wonderful, and beautiful, and brilliant.

And then she pulled away.

Why?

She looked like she was about to cry. "That was wrong," she said.

"No!" I told her quickly. "It was right!"

She shook her head, though I'm not sure if it was in disagreement or to clear her mind.

"No," she argued. "It was wrong. I can't…we…can't do this," she said, sounding unsure.

"Why?" I asked feebly.

"Because…" but I never found out why, because a tear escaped her eye and cascaded down her cheeks, and she ran back up to the girl's dorm to go to sleep.

I groaned. What have I done?

*********

"Prongs?" Remus asked at breakfast, sounding concerned.

"Yeah-huh?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"Uh…" I trailed off.

"He had a nightmare," Sirius said. "Did you go back to sleep after that?"

I shook my head. "Needed time to think," I mumbled.

"At three in the morning?" Sirius asked incredulously, shaking his head.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to butter my toast. It just wouldn't come off the damn knife.

"So, think of anything interesting?" Peter asked stupidly.

"Yep," I answered, still attempting to win the toast war.

"Which was…?" Remus asked.

"That Lily Evans is a good kisser."

Sirius and Peter started choking simultaneously and Remus's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"W-what?" asked Remus, who was the first to recover.

"She was there too, in the common room, real upset. I went to talk to her. Then, well, she kissed me. Then she said, 'that was wrong,' and without further explanation, ran back to bed."

"Wow," Sirius said.

"Well, there's only one solution," Remus said decisively.

"Kill myself?" I suggested. He rolled his eyes.

"We have to find Mystery Girl," Remus said. "And fast."

*********

**Alice POV**

I have no idea why I was doing this. I would love to say it's for my best friend, but I really think it's just my love for drama and my need to know everything.

I found Sirius and Peter walking to their next class by themselves. Perfect.

"Sirius, may I have a word with you?" I asked sweetly.

He looked at Peter, who nodded. Then he walked over to me.

"Yes, Lovely Lady?" he asked, bowing deeply. I rolled my eyes.

"I need to know why you guys wanted to know who the girl James was dancing with was so badly."

He didn't look surprised. "Are you going to tell me?" he asked.

"It depends on why you want to know," I said.

"Well, I can't really tell you that, as it is top secret."

"Well then I can't tell you who she was," I said.

"But we need to know!" he argued.

"Why?"

"Because he likes her!" he said, then slapped a hand over his own mouth and swore.

"James likes all girls," I said lazily.

"But he really likes your friend from the ball," he said, sighing.

"Okay, I'll tell you why I can't tell you her name."

He nodded eagerly.

"Because when she first talked to him at the ball, he was talking about this other girl he really likes, and then my friend started to really like him. She doesn't want him to know who she is so that he can't tell that she's starting to like him."

Sirius stared at me open mouthed for a moment.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to class," I said.

*********

**Sirius POV**

I have to do something, and fast.

Okay, whoever the girl was that James was dancing with likes him, but thinks he likes some other girl (Lily) more.

James isn't sure who he likes more, but he doesn't know one girl's name, and Lily doesn't like him.

The only way we have of finding out who Mystery Girl is using the clip.

The clip!

But how? I thought for a moment.

Okay, this was a very delicate situation. It needed to be handled with care.

But how?

I walked into the Gryffindor common room.

"Hello Remus," I said, slightly louder than usual. He gave me a quizzical look, and I winked for him to play along.

"The day after the ball, I founded this little silver hair clip in the Great Hall," I told him loudly. "And I'm not sure how to find it's owner."

A few girls looked over enviously, but none tried to claim it.

"It's very pretty, and whoever lost it most likely wants it back," he said, matching my volume.

"Oh, I know who's that it," Andromeda said, walking up.

"Who's?" Remus asked.

"It's Lily's, I'll give it back to her."

She took the clip from my hand, not noticing the unbelieving faces Remus and I were giving her.

When she was gone, I turned to Remus. We stood there, gaping for a moment.

"Well now we're right back where we started!" he complained after a moment.

I shook my head. "Nope," I said. "We're further along."

"How?" he asked. I told him about my discussion with Alice.

He grinned and nodded.

"This could actually work," he said.


	6. That Didn't Go Well

**James POV**

"Prongs!" Sirius called from down the corridor. Classes had ended and I was headed to the Gryffindor common room.

"Yes?" I asked as him and Remus caught up to me.

"We have news!"

"You found out who Mystery Girl is?" I asked eagerly.

"Sort of…" Remus said, trailing off.

"How did you sort of find out who she is?" I asked suspiciously.

"I don't know if we should tell him," Sirius said, looking at Remus.

"What!?" I asked desperately. 'You have to!"

"But…you won't like it," Remus said.

"Tell me," I pleaded.

"It was Lily."

"What?" I deadpanned.

"It was-"

"I heard what you said!" I yelled. "And I'm not an idiot you guys! I know you think Lily'll come around one of these days, but she won't. And telling me that she was the girl from the ball isn't going to help me!"

With that I stormed away.

*****

**Sirius POV**

"That didn't go well," Remus replied as we watched James stalking away.

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Well, he won't believe us, so how do we do this?"

"We go to Lily," I said decisively.

"Hey Lils," I said, sitting next to her on the couch. Remus sat on the other side of her.

"What do you want?" she asked, not looking up from her homework.

"We want to know why you ran away from James at the ball."

She looked up at me. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said coldly.

"Oh, we think you do," Remus said.

"What do you want?" she repeated.

"We want you to tell James," I said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because he's miserable," I told her.

"Why would he be miserable over me?" she asked.

"Because he really likes you. And he liked you at the dance, when he thought you were someone else. He's been searching for the girl at the ball since that night, just so he could try and get over you. He didn't believe us when we told him it was you."

"Why should he want to find me?" she asked furiously, standing up. "Why not the 'perfect girl' he spoke so highly of when I was trying as hard as I could not to fall for him. How do you think that made me feel!?"

She started to walk to the girl dormitory, but I grabbed her arm. "He was talking about you!" I told her. "He didn't think you were Lily, so he was talking about you to you!"

She glared at me, her eyes full of fire. "Don't lie to me," she spat, before ripping her arm from my grasp and walking up the stairs so we couldn't follow her.

"That didn't go well either," I said.

Remus shook his head.

"Nope."


	7. What's This?

"What are we going to do now?" Sirius asked Remus as they walked down a random corridor, avoiding James and Lily.

"I don't-Ah!" Remus replied, startled when Alice suddenly jumped in front of him, appearing to have come out of thin air.

"Hey boys," she said sweetly.

"Alice," they acknowledged together.

"I want to help," she said.

"With what?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Oh don't give me that!" she cried indignantly. "Lily's been all mopey and sad lately, and I feel so helpless. I want to help get them together."

Sirius looked at Remus, who nodded. "Fine," he said. "Any ideas?"

She grinned evilly. "A couple," she said.

*********

"That's bloody brilliant!" Sirius cried.

"Isn't it?" Alice asked smugly.

"I can't believe we didn't think of it!"

"But where are we going to get all of that stuff?" Remus asked. "I haven't got any idea why there would be that many of those in Hogwarts."

"That's true…" Alice said slowly, her face thoughtful.

"Bugger," Sirius said. "What are we going to do now?"

"We'll have to think of something simpler," Alice said decisively.

*********

"Hello Lily," James said, walking into the Gryffindor common room.

"James," she acknowledged, not looking away from the fire.

"You didn't come to dinner," he said uncomfortably. "So I brought you a sandwich."

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, and whispered, "Thank you."

"What's wrong?" he asked her, sitting next to her.

She just shook her head, looking back at the fire.

"You can tell me you know," he said. "I know we've had our problems in the past, but I've matured. I am Head Boy."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "I can't do it anymore James," she said quietly.

"Do what?"

"Pretend!" she cried. "Pretend I don't love you! Pretend I wasn't the girl at the ball! Pretend it doesn't kill me to just be friends with you!"

Tears were now streaming down her face.

"Y-you were the girl at the ball!?" he sputtered.

She nodded, still crying, her head still on his shoulder. "And I've really like you since that night, but all you could talk about was some other girl! Just tell me, please, who was she?"

"She's perfect," he said offhandedly. "She's beautiful, and smart, and has a fiery temper, and brings be down to Earth when my head gets too big."

Lily's was nearly sobbing by this time.

"She's amazing," he said decisively. "And perfect. And I don't deserve her. But by some stroke of good luck, Dumbledore made me Head Boy, so that I get to see her whenever I want."

Lily sat up and looked at him. "W-what?" she asked.

"It's you," he said softly.

"Me," she said, almost in a whisper. Then she groaned.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"A right mess we've made of things," she said. "Or rather, I've made of things."

He laughed. "No, we're both equally to blame. But maybe now we can make up for it."

Slowly they leaned in, closer, closer, until-

An unfamiliar own flew in and landed on Lily's lap. And another did the same for James.

Lily's said:

_Dear Lily-Flower,_

_I know it was you at the ball, and I know I've made a mess of things, but please let me make it up to you. I would give anything for a chance to talk to you._

_Meet me at the Quidditch pitch tonight at 6:00. Please._

_Yours Forever,  
James_

"What's this?" she asked him, confused.

"I would tell you," he said. "Only, I didn't write it."

"Huh," Lily said. "Read yours."

_Dear James,_

_I'm sorry I ran from you at the dance. I ran because I was too afraid to face my feelings. I was scared and confused, because I was afraid I might be falling for you. Please let me make it up to you._

_Meet me at the Quidditch pitch at 6:00. Please._

_Yours Truly,  
Mystery Girl._

Lily and James looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

"You didn't write that, did you?" he asked her. Through giggles, she shook her head. "That's Alice's handwriting," she said, still laughing hysterically.

"And that's Sirius's," he replied, pointing to her note.

"What should we do?" she asked.

"Oh, I have an idea," he said.

*********

**The end? I think not! Nope, one more chapter, because I want to have a little fun with their meddling friends.**


	8. It Was Worth It

"Come on!" Alice called to Sirius and Remus. "Lily just left, has James gone yet?"

Remus nodded. "Like 5 minutes ago," he said.

"Well, let's go!" Sirius said.

They grabbed the invisibility cloak and squished together so they could all fit.

Once they got to the Quidditch field, they saw that Lily and James hadn't seen each other yet.

"This'll be good," Sirius whispered, grinning.

Alice nodded, putting a finger to her lips.

"Lily?" they heard James ask.

"James?" she replied.

"So you were the girl at the dance?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"Yes, I was, but I had listen all night to you talking about some other girl you jerk!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have hid your identity, or you would know I was talking about you!"

"About me!?" she screeched. "I don't like you like that! Ew!"

"What?" Alice whispered, shocked.

"Then what's with this letter!?" he yelled at her, pulling out a small piece of paper.

"I could ask you the same thing!" she screamed back.

"I didn't write you a letter!"

"Neither did I!"

"Oh sure you didn't!" he yelled sarcastically. "Everyone knows you're totally in love with me!"

"Well you pretty much stalk me!" she argued. "You asshole!"

He gasped. "You take that back!"

"Make me!" she yelled.

"Well you're just a stubborn bitch!" he cried.

She gasped, her eyes wide. Then she walked over and slapped him.

"Ow!" he cried. "You know, I don't think I like you any more!"

"Fine then!" she screamed, and they bother stomped off in separate directions.

"Wait!" Alice screamed, throwing the cloak off of her. "You're ruining it!"

"Yeah!" Sirius agreed, running after James while Alice chased Lily.

"Ruined what?" Lily asked, feigning ignorance.

"Our plan to get you guys together!" she cried. "Because you can't do it yourselves!"

"Oh, we can't?" James asked, putting his arm around Lily.

"W-what?" Sirius sputtered.

"Stop meddling in our love lives," Lily said firmly.

"But-but, I-" Alice seemed at a loss for words. Without another word Remus, Sirius, and Alice hung their head sheepishly and walked off.

"That, Lily-flower, was very good acting," James said.

She smiled slyly. "Not so bad yourself," she said.

"Thank you, thank you," he said, bowing. She giggled. "However," he added, feigning seriousness. "That slap seemed pretty real."

She shrugged. "I did have a little pent up anger," she said, grinning.

"Is it all gone now?" he asked.

Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed him.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked, walking away.

He didn't say anything. He was too shocked. Then, his surprised expression fell and he was grinning like an idiot.

He was still like that twenty minutes later when Filch found him and gave him a detention for being outside the castle this late.

But he decided it was worth it.


	9. Message To My Readers

**A MESSAGE TO MY READERS**

VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

Honey, I'm home! Yes, I'm at it again. For a while I had decided that I was going to focus on more productive writing, but you know what? Fanfiction is fun, and I miss it! So here I am, writing again.

I am, however, writing under a new pen name. My new account is Princess Corkey, and below you will find a list of stories that will be on that as well as a link.

* * *

New Profile: .net/u/3790840/Princess_Corkey

**Lost In Another Time**: This story was so much fun to write, and I reread it often for inspiration, but I recently realized how much I've grown as a writer since then, and it makes me wish I could rewrite it, and I realized, why don't I? So here it is, the remastering of Lost, now called **Her Name Was Alexandra**. Three chapters are already up. Not much different yet, but I am hoping to add to it. I want to explore the Lily/James relationship in it a little further, as well as add a few more supporting characters and straighten out the timeline. Suggestions? Love 'em! Link: .net/s/8151596/1/Her_Name_Was_Alexandra

**My Other Half: **MOH will be remastered much the same as Lost, under the name **The Other Half**. I would like Allyson to have a few personality changes, making her less unpredictable so to convey that she is more vulnerably than I initially showed. Also, I would like this story to be a little longer and completely change the last chapter for I look back and feel it is a terrible ending.

**Kiss Me In The Rain, Fallen Angel, Look Into The Future, Delusions of Grandeur, **: Existing chapters will remain mostly the same, possible minor tweaking, but the story will be reposted and continued on the new account.

**Tension, Uncomfortable, A Forgotten Story**: Will be tweaked slightly for typos, but otherwise will remain the same and simply reposted on the new account.

**Never Alone, Meet The Family, All's Fair in Love and Friendship, Katie Bell: Socially Inept: **Existing chapters will be rewritten and then story will be continued on the new account. **(All's fair will be shortened to simply that. I don't like longer titles for most stories.)**

**My Star Chaser (To become simply Star Chaser), Not My Night, and Cinderella Masquerade, Lily Potter: Daughter, Sister, and Disappointment (To become Lily Potter: Disappointment)**: Possibly rewritten, but lower on the priority list. Saving for a rainy day or once all above projects are completed.


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